Elektra Excerpt PDF

ELEKTRA
_________________________
A one-act drama by
Elizabeth Brendel Horn
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Elektra © 2019 Elizabeth Brendel Horn
All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-1-62088-882-7.
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CAST OF CHARACTERS
ELEKTRA, a defiant, tormented twenty-year-old girl. She is
driven by the memory of her father's death and her thirst for
revenge. She vacillates between being a patient in a mental
institution and Grecian royalty.
DOCTOR/CLYTEMNESTRA, as Elektra's doctor, she is cool,
collected and methodical. As Elektra's mother, she is conniving
and abuses her power as queen. Played by one actor, but may
or may not be the same person in reality.
NURSE, one of the more compassionate and caring providers
in this institution, but she is bound by her role as a nurse and
her own fears and reservations. She may or may not, in reality,
be Elektra's older sister, Chrysothemis.
ORESTES, Elektra's brother, eighteen. He is worn from war and
estranged from his family and home. Existing in Elektra's
imagination, he is part Greek hero.
YOUNG ELEKTRA, a former version of Elektra at age nine. She
is without a care, innocent, and haunts Elektra's mind. This
actor may also play a member of the Chorus.
YOUNG ORESTES, a former version of Orestes at age seven. He
is rambunctious and being groomed for war. This actor may
also play a nurse.
AGAMEMNON, Elektra's father, remembered by Elektra as
courageous, powerful, and loving. This actor may also play a
nurse.
AEGISTHUS, Agamemnon's cousin and Elektra's stepfather.
Clytemnestra takes him as her lover while Agamemnon is away
at war. This actor may also play a nurse.
MEMBERS OF THE CHORUS, as small as four or as many as
you desire. They are members of a traditional chorus, patients
in the mental institution, walls, and voices. Any gender; at least
some females.
NURSES, as small as two or as many as you desire. They are the
silent, militant power within the institution. Any gender.
SETTING
The past and present. The kingdom of Mycenae, or a mental
institution, or Elektra's mind.
PRODUCTION NOTES
The Chorus
Any Chorus line may be assigned to one person, divided among
members of the chorus, or spoken in unison by some or all of
the Chorus. In the original production, the Chorus was divided
into four groups based on the pitch of their natural speaking
voices, bringing a heightened musicality to group lines. Chorus
members also had individual lines. Please play with this. Here
is an example:
(As written in the script:)
ELEKTRA: There's something…
CHORUS: In her cold steely gaze
In her harsh and heartless tone
In the manipulation of her every move.
You've been here.
You've seen it all before.
You know her.
(In performance:)
ELEKTRA: There's something …
CHORUS: (Chorus Group 1:) In her cold steely gaze
(Chorus Groups 1 & 2:) In her harsh and heartless tone
(ALL Chorus:) In the manipulation of her every move.
You've been here.
(Chorus Group 1:) You've seen it all before.
(Single member of chorus:) You know her.
The Nurses
I encourage directors to cast as large of a nurse ensemble as
possible—watching Elektra need six nurses to contain her rage
is unsettling. In the original production, the nurses wore sterile,
dystopian, militant uniforms. Their movements were rigid and
robotic—we watched them complete the same choreographed
sequence with each patient, checking their eyes, pulse, and
giving them medicine. Their lack of emotion and disregard for
the patients' individual needs added much to the environment
of the hospital.
It should also be mentioned here that it is not necessary to show
the nurses drugging Elektra, if that content is of concern. In the
original production (and in the stage directions in the script),
this was suggested by timing it so that as the nurses moved
toward and contained Elektra, the lights went to black to
represent Elektra losing consciousness.
The Walls
There are likely many ways that the Chorus can become a part
of the walls in Elektra's cell. In the original production, the walls
were several simple rectangular wooden frames wrapped in
layers of stretchy white fabric. The Chorus held up these frames
to create the cell walls. They stood upstage of the frames so as
to hide from the audience and create the appearance of a solid
wall (in Scene 2). In Scene 5, they then moved their heads
through slits in the fabric until just their faces appeared—the
effect looked something like they were being birthed through
the wall. White headwraps and white highlighted
makeup—including lips and eyelashes—made this visual effect
more unified.
PLAYWRIGHT NOTES
While researching other adaptations of Sophocles' Electra, I
was struck by the number of lines stating how trapped Elektra
felt, both in body and mind. This led to the imagining of a
physical space that would trap Elektra: a jail cell? A cage? A
hospital? Drawn to the exploration of who or what was
trapping Elektra—her mother, herself, the gods, or her
circumstances?—I decided upon a mental institution, a space
where Elektra could be controlled not only by the physical
barriers but also by the diagnoses and treatments she received,
and where Clytemnestra could have heightened power as her
doctor who is able to administer treatments, schedule
appointments, and enter and exit the physical space as she
pleases. This convention also allowed the Greek chorus to take
on multiple roles, not only as Elektra's advisors and confidants
but also as fellow patients and the voices in Elektra's head.
So, how much of the play is reality? Is Elektra really in a mental
institution? Is Clytemnestra really torturing and manipulating
her? Does Elektra really kill her mother? Is she actually visited
by Orestes? Is that one nurse truly Chrysothemis, her sister? Is
Elektra suffering from mental illness, or is she the victim of
mental manipulation? These things are open to interpretation,
and my hope would be that the play starts some healthy debates
for performance ensembles and audiences alike. Regardless of
what is real or what is perceived as reality, it is important to
remember that what is happening for Elektra is very real to her.
Because of the uncertainty of what is imagined and what is real,
I hope this script provides the opportunity for the creation of a
unique and intentionally confusing world. As an example, in
the original production (which I also directed) we played with
creating a precarious manipulation of reality by examining the
landscape: in some scenes, a bare stage and the use of the
cyclorama created a sense of expansion; in other scenes, the
chorus used fragmented wall pieces to build the cell walls or
long poles to create a cage for Elektra, both of which constricted
her. With these choices, we played with creating a visual world
of uncertainty for our viewers, and an outward representation
of Elektra's inner state.
We can probably all agree that it is unlikely that Elektra is both
in a mental institution and a Grecian princess—so where do the
lines blur? If we picture Elektra imagining the hospital, then
perhaps what we see is her idea of what a hospital, patients,
nurses, and doctors might look like. If she is in actuality a
patient who imagines herself as a Greek princess, then how
does that manifest itself in the costuming of various characters
(such as the dreamlike Orestes), or in her own performance?
How are the characters she interacts with reflections of how she
remembers her family members—if they are not indeed
actually them? Throughout the script, the text shifts from
classical and contemporary dialogue. What causes these shifts?
These shifts may illuminate on what is real versus what is
imagined; they may offer insight on Elektra's mental state or
sense of self. How do these changes in tone look in
performance?
Finally, it's important to note how this plot varies from the
classic story: Originally, Orestes, Elektra's brother, comes and
murders Clytemnestra (their mother) and then murders
Aegisthus (their stepfather), and the play ends. In this
adaptation, Orestes is too scared to murder their mother, so
Elektra must commit the murder herself—his long-awaited
arrival (whether real or imagined) and Elektra's
disappointment at his passivity creates a catalyst for her to
finally take action.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
Elektra premiered at Timber Creek High School (Orlando, FL)
in 2014.
10 Elizabeth Brendel Horn
PROLOGUE
(The stage is black. Area light up on a YOUNG ELEKTRA and
YOUNG ORESTES, playing. AGAMEMNON enters.)
YOUNG ELEKTRA: Oh, Father!
(The children run to Agamemnon. A reunion. They embrace.)
AGAMEMNON: Ah, my children!
YOUNG ORESTES: What have you brought us?
AGAMEMNON: (Laughing:) For you, dear boy—
(He hands Young Orestes a dagger.)
YOUNG ORESTES: Is it real?
AGAMEMNON: You're old enough now.
(Young Orestes immediately begins play fighting an invisible foe.)
(Sighs:) And for you, Elektra.
(He reveals a small book.)
YOUNG ELEKTRA: May I read it, please?
AGAMEMNON: Let the story begin!
YOUNG ELEKTRA: (Reading:) Once upon a time, a brave co…
AGAMEMNON: Commander.
YOUNG ELEKTRA: …Commander set a thousand ships a sail
across a rocky sea, in pursuit of the fairest maiden you could
ever imagine. Though the gods urged him to turn back, and
though he lost his finest men, he perse...
AGAMEMNON: Persevered.
YOUNG ELEKTRA: He persevered forward. One night, from
the hollow depths of a wooden horse—
(CLYTEMNESTRA enters.)
© Elizabeth Brendel Horn

This is a perusal copy only.
Absolutely no printing, copying/distribution or performance permitted.
Elektra 11
AGAMEMNON: My wife!
(Agamemnon and Clytemnestra embrace. Suddenly, Agamemnon
goes rigid. As he sinks to the ground, we see that Clytemnestra
has stabbed him.)
YOUNG ELEKTRA: I watch—
(Clytemnestra pulls away as Agamemnon falls to the ground.
AEGISTHUS enters. Clytemnestra crosses to him; they embrace
and exit.)
I mourn!
(Young Orestes exits, afraid. Young Elektra goes to hold her
father.)
Oh, Father!
YOUNG ELEKTRA & ELEKTRA: How many times can a heart
break?
(Abrupt shift to stark area light on adult ELEKTRA, on her knees
center stage.)
SCENE 1
ELEKTRA: Father!
(She startles, awakening from the nightmare. The CHORUS
enters during the following:)
Again, and again, and again, this miserable, torturous pain
cycles on. Like the bitter sting of a reopened wound, the raw
memory haunts my mind. Always repeating, never changing, a
single death a thousand times over. I want it to stop. I want it
to never stop. I cannot allow myself to forget. This unraveling
thread of despair is my sole connection to the world.
CHORUS: Elektra, you mourn too much.
ELEKTRA: I love too much.

CHORUS: Your love is wasted.

Your eyes burn red with a truth that cannot be untold.
These lamentations fall dead against cold walls.
ELEKTRA: Oh, but I will never stop lamenting. I may cry to no
one, but I still must cry.
CHORUS: What good are your tears?
He may be dead, but you're still alive,
At least in body if not in mind.
But you've been consumed by your grief.
You've become nothing but a dead man's daughter.
ELEKTRA: I only know grief. It is the only way.
CHORUS: It is only the way to more misery and isolation.
You've lost yourself.
ELEKTRA: It doesn't matter. I already had nothing left to lose.
CHORUS: But you mustn't wallow—
ELEKTRA: You're right. There is no sense to it. My grief must
serve as fuel to the flame.
CHORUS: Elektra,
Your soul darkens with each passing moment.
There is something bad here, very bad.
We feel it growing,
Festering.
You must contain your rage.
You must put the fire out.
ELEKTRA: (Darkly:) There is no bad here. Nothing has ever felt
so pure. So right.
CHORUS: Know your boundaries, Elektra.
This path may lead you to more pain and sorrow.
ELEKTRA: I already know a pain no other could understand. I
am consumed by agony. All I see is him—Aegisthus, on my
Elektra 13
father's chair. Aegisthus, wearing my father's clothes.

Aegisthus, in my parents' bed. Aegisthus, made of the same
blood. And next to him, that filth. That smiling, manipulative
woman I refuse to call mother. No murderer is worthy of that
name.
CHORUS: You're mad with grief.
ELEKTRA: Of course I am mad. Furious, outraged!
CHORUS: Be quiet, they'll hear!
ELEKTRA: Let them hear! Let my cries echo off these walls—
let them pierce through the confines of my cage.
(She wails.)
Agamemnon! Agamemnon! Agamemnon, I cry your name! I
mourn for you!
CHORUS: You must stop!
ELEKTRA: I will never stop until the task is done. Her blood
will taste so sweet.
CHORUS: How can one soul hold so much evil?
ELEKTRA: It is really quite easy.
(The Chorus advances on her.)
CHORUS: Elektra, we hear them. They're coming.
ELEKTRA: Let them come! Let them see what's become of me!
CHORUS: Elektra, you must stop, you must behave.
ELEKTRA: I cannot. I will not.
CHORUS: Elektra, they will punish you.
ELEKTRA: They cannot punish me more than fate already has.
CHORUS: Elektra!

SCENE 2
(The DOCTOR [played by the actor who plays Clytemnestra] and
several NURSES enter the cell. The Chorus becomes the walls of
Elektra's cell.)
DOCTOR: And how are we today?
ELEKTRA: Fine.
DOCTOR: Can you tell me your name?
ELEKTRA: (Pause.) Elektra.
DOCTOR: How old are you?
ELEKTRA: Twenty.
DOCTOR: What day of the week is it?
ELEKTRA: Tuesday, I think.
DOCTOR: Very good. Let's begin. I have some questions to ask
you. I'll need you to work with me, all right? Elektra?
(With a slightly threatening tone:)
Patient is uncooperative.
ELEKTRA: What?
DOCTOR: That's better. Thank you.
ELEKTRA: You're welcome.
DOCTOR: Elektra, I'm going to ask you about why you are
here. I need you to answer as truthfully as you can. Can you do
that?
ELEKTRA: Yes.
DOCTOR: I want you to think about your last memory before
you came here. Where were you?
(Elektra contains her frustration. She has answered these
questions before.)

Elektra 15
ELEKTRA: By the sea. On the beach.

DOCTOR: What were you doing?
ELEKTRA: I was playing.
DOCTOR: Alone?
ELEKTRA: With my brother. We were waiting for my father,
he was returning from war. We ran to meet him, and then—
DOCTOR: What?
ELEKTRA: And then she—
DOCTOR: Who is she?
ELEKTRA: The woman I called mother.
DOCTOR: What about her?
ELEKTRA: She ran to him, too.
DOCTOR: Did she seem happy to see him?
ELEKTRA: I thought so.
DOCTOR: And then what?
ELEKTRA: She…embraced him. And for a moment in time
everything was right in the world. But then she reached around
and…she had a dagger—her lover's. I watched her stab my
father. He fell to the ground, a pool of gritty, sandy blood. I ran
to him and pressed myself against his wound. And then I saw
his life flicker out. I searched in her eyes, wanting her to hold
me, wanting her to tell me it was a mistake. She called me a
stupid child. She told me she was glad that he was dead. "How
could I love him?" she said. And then she held out her hands,
her hands stained with his blood. She told me to come to her.
But I wouldn't. I refused.
DOCTOR: That's enough for today. You need your rest.

ELEKTRA: (As if in a flashback:) Evil among all evils, you are no

mother! You are nothing more than the chains that keep me
from joy, you hideous destroyer of freedom and love.
DOCTOR: I said that's enough, Elektra. Remember where you
are.
ELEKTRA: (Suddenly:) He will return, you know.
DOCTOR: Who?
ELEKTRA: Orestes, my brother. He will free me, and together
we will destroy her.
DOCTOR: Enough.
ELEKTRA: He escaped and I could not. But he did not desert
me, this I know. We will seek revenge, and her pain will be my
father's pain a thousand times over. We will tear her apart, limb
from limb, and hang her out to dry for all to see that evil does
not win.
DOCTOR: Restrain her.
(The Nurses move toward Elektra.)
ELEKTRA: No—let me be! When we finish her, no man will
recognize her face—save for her eyes.
(Turning to the Doctor:)
Her eyes I will leave so that I may stare straight into them that
she might see me smile. There will be no pity, no mercy—only
death for the dead at heart. She has ruined me, and I will ruin
her!
(The Nurses drug Elektra [see NOTES]. Lights pulse, then
blackout. The lights rise to a dim area light on Elektra and the
Doctor. Elektra is numb.)
DOCTOR: What is your name?
ELEKTRA: (Pause.) I don't know.
Elektra 17
(Lights fade. Lights up on dim area.)

ELEKTRA: Don't know.
(Lights fade. Lights up on dim area.)
ELEKTRA: I…don't know.
DOCTOR: Very good. That will be all.
(The Doctor exits as lights fade.)
INTERLUDE
(The same as the Prologue, but somehow different. Perhaps we see
the scene from another angle, or grotesquely exaggerated. Perhaps
it is at a drastically different tempo. Perhaps it is told through
movement instead of words. The stage is black. Area light up on
Agamemnon and Young Elektra reading and Young Orestes
playing.)
AGAMEMNON: Let the story begin!
YOUNG ELEKTRA: (Reading:) Once upon a time, a brave
commander set a thousand ships a sail across a rocky sea, in
pursuit of the fairest maiden you could ever imagine. Though
the gods urged him to turn back, and though he lost his finest
men, he persevered forward. One night, from the hollow depths
of a wooden horse—
(Clytemnestra enters.)
AGAMEMNON: My wife!
(Agamemnon and Clytemnestra embrace. Suddenly, Agamemnon
goes rigid. As he sinks to the ground, we see that Clytemnestra
has stabbed him.)
YOUNG ELEKTRA: I watch—

(Clytemnestra pulls away as Agamemnon falls to the ground.

Aegisthus enters. Clytemnestra crosses to him; they embrace and
exit.)
I mourn!
(Young Orestes exits, afraid. Young Elektra goes to hold her
father.)
Oh, Father!
SCENE 3
(Lights shifts abruptly. Elektra is in the same position as before.
The members of the Chorus have become patients of the psychiatric
ward. The Nurses mechanically move from patient to patient,
making rounds. One female Nurse looks at Elektra for a moment.
Using a bucket of water and a washcloth, she begins bathing
Elektra's face, neck and hands, and then finally speaks quietly to
Elektra.)
NURSE: You need to try, you know.
(Elektra is unresponsive.)
To control yourself. These outbursts are not helping. You'll
never get out of here if you keep this up. I've seen it before.
(Elektra is silent, but opens her eyes during the following speech:)
Elektra? Can you hear me? I can't say much but…I know this is
hard, what you're going through. I know how bad things are
here. I see it every day. I wish there was more I could do to help
you. It's hard for me too.
ELEKTRA: (Groggily:) What do you know?
NURSE: I'm sorry, I shouldn't.
ELEKTRA: How can you know what I'm going through? You're
a hypocrite—you're just as bad as they are. Worse.
CHORUS: Cool your temper, Elektra.
Elektra 19
Hear her words.

Let them soothe your worried soul.
ELEKTRA: I can't. I can't listen to this.
(Another nurse approaches.)
NURSE: We're fine—I'm cleaning up her bandages. I'll just be a
minute. (To Elektra:) I have to go.
CHORUS: She's deserted you,
Blood turned from blood.
As it did once before.
ELEKTRA: That's fine—abandon me. I'm used to it.
NURSE: No one is abandoning you.
ELEKTRA: I was abandoned long ago. Orestes is the only one
who will prove faithful to me—when he returns to help me
make what is wrong right.
CHORUS: Appeal to her heart, Elektra.
She can try to shut the memories out,
But let them linger like fresh rain drops
Trickling off branches after a storm.
ELEKTRA: Do you remember the way things used to be?
Jumping awake and running down to the shore to sink our toes
in the sand. Splashing in the waves until our cheeks burned and
our salty lips went dry. Sitting under the juniper tree, wrapped
in each other's arms, reading books until it was too dark to make
out the words. We were so free. It can be that way again, you
know.
NURSE: When will you learn? This is not the time for fantasies.
Now is the time to be sensible. You have to see truth for truth.
ELEKTRA: Whose truth am I supposed to see?

NURSE: (Gently, as though to a child:) Sometimes you have to be

willing to push aside your own realities so that…
ELEKTRA: So that what?
NURSE: So that people don't think you're mad.
CHORUS: She's in their game,
A coward among cowards.
ELEKTRA: I'm not afraid. They can think I'm mad all they
want.
NURSE: Yes, but if you want to be free—
ELEKTRA: What is freedom? Is that what you have?
NURSE: Compared to you, yes. But there are certain rules that
must be followed, and people that must be obeyed, if I want to
have that freedom.
CHORUS: A free soul is worth more than a free body.
ELEKTRA: Your freedom is fake. You've sacrificed your
dignity, turned away from those who love you. I wouldn't stand
for it.
NURSE: But look at you. Is this the life you want?
CHORUS: Is this living at all?
ELEKTRA: Yes. I am alive. I'm more alive than you. I must
follow what I, Elektra, believe. That is my truth. They can try to
control me, but I still have my mind. I won't let them take that.
I may be suffering now, but at least when I die I'll know I lived
an honorable life. Can you say the same?
NURSE: But, Elektra…what if your death is nearer than you
think?
CHORUS: They'll shut you down.
They'll silence you forever more.

Elektra 21
ELEKTRA: What do you know?

NURSE: Nothing.
ELEKTRA & CHORUS: What do you know?
NURSE: Nothing, I swear. I would just hate to see anything else
happen to you.
CHORUS: Hate.
ELEKTRA: Oh, you'd hate it—hate, it's such an empty word. If
you had true hate you'd know where to direct it. If you had true
hate you'd be here with me—you'd fight with me, not against
me. If you had true hate you'd stand up for the one who loved
you. He was your father, too.
(Pause.)
CHORUS: We've said too much.
NURSE: The doctor has spoken with you about this, Elektra. I
am your nurse. I am not your sister.
ELEKTRA: That's right. I forgot. I never had a sister.
NURSE: That's right.
(Beat.)
I'll make sure another nurse does the next rounds. I can tell I'm
only feeding your delusions.
ELEKTRA: Oh, just go.
NURSE: It's best if I keep my distance. Goodbye, Elektra.
ELEKTRA: Go.
SCENE 4
(During the following speech, the Chorus members gradually
transition from patients to a more traditional Greek Chorus, as in
Scene 1.)

CHORUS: This building is sick.

Festering, decaying, decrepit
Beyond any disorder or disease of body or mind.
This sickness of the heart and soul
Permeates into every surface of this unholy place.
A place where humans
Deny the truth,
Disgrace one another,
Discard loved ones with the toss of a hand.
How can it be that animals
Understand how to care for their own
But we humans do not?
We think we are the highest species
But our greed, our selfishness,
Our disregard for our own blood
Make us weak.
Make us sick.
Elektra,
We do not always understand you.
We do not always know your way.
But we do know this:
Of everyone here,
You understand love.
You understand sacrifice.
We see you hurting, alone, betrayed.
We hear you crying in the night.
We feel your heavy heart.
We accept your grief as our own.
Your love was taken from you
Like a babe ripped from its mother's arms.
You deserve to take something in return.
So continue to grieve, Elektra,
If that's what your heart desires,
But know that death may be your only reward,
Elektra 23
This we fear.
(The Doctor enters during the following, unseen.)
ELEKTRA: Ha! You may fear my death, but I do not. Do you
not see what's become of my life? What cause do I have to
continue living? It would be an honor to die, as long as I knew
I lived a life without shame. Those who hide from the truth and
hide from what is right—they should fear death. They should
fear what is to come.
CHORUS: But be careful, Elektra.
Do not let your pride become you,
Lest you should die before the deed is done.
ELEKTRA: At least death would be an escape, and a return to
the one I love.
CHORUS: She approaches.
Be strong, Elektra.
Control your boiling blood.
SCENE 5
(The Chorus moves behind the walls in Elektra's cell. We see stark
whiteness, and Elektra's isolation. The Doctor enters.)
ELEKTRA: Fine.
ELEKTRA: (Pause.) Elektra.
ELEKTRA: Twenty.
ELEKTRA: Wednesday?

DOCTOR: Very good. Let's begin. Have you been hearing any
voices lately?
(The Chorus' faces emerge as part of the wall [See NOTES].)
CHORUS: Do not give her reason to doubt you now.
ELEKTRA: I won't.
DOCTOR: Elektra, who are you talking to?
ELEKTRA: No one. I was just thinking out loud.
DOCTOR: (Pause.) All right. And are you having suicidal
thoughts?
CHORUS: Speak, Elektra.
You must think of something to stop this interrogation.
ELEKTRA: No. I don't want to die.
DOCTOR: You know you're safe here, right? No one is going
to harm you.
CHORUS: Do not let her lies infuriate you now.
You must keep her at bay.
ELEKTRA: I feel very safe here.
DOCTOR: Good. While you are in this rational state of
thinking, I'd like to discuss more about why you're here.
CHORUS: Steady.
Feed her lies.
Tell her what she wants to hear.
DOCTOR: You say your mother killed your father.
CHORUS: She does not deserve that name.
ELEKTRA: She did.
DOCTOR: I'm not denying what you believe to be true. But as
we've discussed, your condition causes hallucinations and
delusions.
Elektra 25
ELEKTRA & CHORUS: Go on.

DOCTOR: One of the ways we can identify a hallucination is
to try to logically understand what caused it. For example, if a
particular event was traumatizing to you, you might
hallucinate something to help you make sense of the event. Do
you follow?
ELEKTRA: Yes.
DOCTOR: Would you consider your father's death to be a
traumatizing event?
ELEKTRA & CHORUS: Of course.
DOCTOR: Your father's death would be a lot for your young
brain to understand. With your disorder, how are we to even
know that your mother actually killed your father? What if he
died of a natural cause? What if her murdering him was just a
hallucination?
ELEKTRA: What do you mean?
DOCTOR: Perhaps you hallucinated this evil version of your
mother to cope with your father's death. Psychologists suggest
that a young woman often feels a natural competition with her
mother, as though she must vie for the affection of her father.
Do you feel threatened by your mother, Elektra?
ELEKTRA & CHORUS: No.
ELEKTRA: The woman who was my mother is nothing to me.
ELEKTRA & CHORUS: How can I fear nothing?
DOCTOR: All right. Suppose your mother did indeed kill your
father. Did you ever consider that maybe your mother had no
choice but to kill your father? Maybe he did something so bad,
so wrong, that she had to kill him? Maybe your delusions
caused an unwarranted anger toward your mother. Did you

ever wonder if perhaps your mother was actually doing what

was best for you?
ELEKTRA: What was best for me?
ELEKTRA & CHORUS: What's best?
DOCTOR: I'm only suggesting that—
ELEKTRA: Do not for one moment suggest that any of this was
best for me.
CHORUS: Elektra, you cannot hold back any longer.
You cannot contain this fury.
Honor your father.
ELEKTRA: Once upon a time, a brave commander set a
thousand ships a sail across a rocky sea, in pursuit of the fairest
maiden you could ever imagine. Though the gods urged him to
turn back, and though he lost his finest men, he persevered
forward.
DOCTOR: Elektra, enough of your stories.
ELEKTRA: Meanwhile, a young girl waits years for her father
to return from war. He finally returns. She watches her mother
murder her father and marry his cousin.
DOCTOR: It was justice that killed him.
ELEKTRA: (Overlapping:) She is forced to live under their roof
for years, as nothing more than a servant, cleaning the filth left
behind by their monstrous children. And you suggest that this
was best for me. You're delusional, dear doctor.
DOCTOR: (Heading toward the door:) You're still not feeling
well. We should reschedule.
ELEKTRA & CHORUS: Wait.
DOCTOR: (Beat.) Yes?
ELEKTRA: There's something…
Elektra 27
CHORUS: In her cold, steely gaze,

In her harsh and heartless tone,
In the manipulation of her every move.
You've been here.
You've seen it all before.
You know her.
ELEKTRA: I know you.
DOCTOR: Of course you do, Elektra. I'm your doctor.
CHORUS: Do not let her fool you any longer, Elektra.
Look with your own eyes.
ELEKTRA: I see—
CHORUS: See the truth.
This is the woman who
Bore you.
Raised you.
Denied you.
Abandoned you.
ELEKTRA: It's you. It's you! How could I be so foolish? How
could I be so blind? You've been right within my reach all along!
DOCTOR: Don't start this.
CHORUS: Justice is coming, by her very own hand.
Vengeance is coming, loud and victorious.
ELEKTRA: I know there is something wrong with me. I don't
need a doctor to tell me that.
CHORUS: Feel the courage pulsing in your veins.
ELEKTRA: Sometimes my thoughts? They even surprise me.
DOCTOR: Elektra, you need to take a step back.
ELEKTRA: You've had control of me for long enough. I will
have your life, I swear it.

DOCTOR: Do not threaten me, Elektra—

ELEKTRA: Or what? You'll lock me up? Kill me? Go ahead, I'm
already dead.
DOCTOR: Nurses!
CHORUS: This sickly love,
This mangled passion,
This marriage that should never be
Will be no more.
ELEKTRA: Go on, restrain me again. Hold me back if you wish,
but you're only prolonging the inevitable pain. When Orestes
returns, and he will, we will bathe in your blood. If I can only
hold off temptation long enough before I tear you apart myself.
(The Nurses enter and go to restrain her.)
DOCTOR: Stop! Hold on. Are you really still under the
impression that Orestes is suddenly going to appear, riding in
on his white horse, to save you? Oh, it's sad. You really are
delusional, aren't you? Well, you can let go of that little fantasy,
my dear. Did you not hear? Orestes isn't coming at all. Orestes
is dead.
ELEKTRA: You lie.
DOCTOR: We got word this morning. I thought they had told
you.
ELEKTRA: No—no, it can't be true. He told me he is coming,
and I know he will.
DOCTOR: He's not coming, Elektra. No one is saving you.
ELEKTRA: You witch. You monster! I will see to it that you
meet your fate, you lying, conniving witch!
(She throws herself at the Doctor, and the Nurses catch her and
force her to the ground.)

Elektra 29
DOCTOR: Restrain her.

(Elektra screams. The Nurses drug Elektra [See NOTES]. Lights
pulse, then blackout. The lights rise to a dim area light on Elektra
and the Doctor. Elektra is numb.)
Elektra? Mommy loves you.
(Lights fade.)
SCENE 6
(It is night. The Chorus, as patients, sleep, as does Elektra, still
center stage. Orestes stands over Elektra. He is in Ancient
Grecian attire.)
ORESTES: Elektra. Open your eyes.
(Elektra stirs.)
ELEKTRA: You cannot wake me. I no longer exist.
ORESTES: Open your eyes and see who stands before you.
(She opens her eyes.)
ELEKTRA: It cannot be. Is it you?
ORESTES: Yes.
ELEKTRA: I was told you were no more. Surely I am dreaming.
ORESTES: Elektra, touch my cheek. Feel its warmth. Feel my
heart beating in my chest. We know each other—we are one and
the same.
ELEKTRA: The gods have rewarded my patience. For so long I
awaited your return, and now you are here. How I will laugh
at them for doubting me! Wondrous joy, you've come back after
all!
ORESTES: I had to see you.

ELEKTRA: I feared my entire existence was in vain. But now

you are here with me. My brother, I have but one good thing in
my life, and it is you.
ORESTES: Elektra—
ELEKTRA: But why were you so long gone?
ORESTES: I must confess, dear Sister, my own apprehension
kept me at bay.
ELEKTRA: What cause do you have to worry?
ORESTES: I cannot explain this fear, but it shakes me. At one
time, patience was my virtue, too. I waited, asking for the skies
to open, to give me a sign. "Show me when," I told the gods,
"and I will do your deed."
ELEKTRA: What did the gods say?
ORESTES: Not a sound. Nothing but a vast and empty sky
before me.
ELEKTRA: This is nonsense. You did not search hard enough.
Now, enough of this; I've waited too long. Answer me swiftly—
how will it be done?
ORESTES: Elektra, hear me. I cannot.
ELEKTRA: Cannot what?
ORESTES: I cannot help you. I do not have it in me.
ELEKTRA: You lie. Who is this foolish boy masquerading as
my brother? You cannot be him.
ORESTES: I am, and always will be.
ELEKTRA: Then, fair brother, you must be joking. Your nerves
deceive you. Have faith, when your eyes behold that vile
woman, your spirit will once again return.

Elektra 31
ORESTES: Elektra, I would never betray you, you must know

this. But the will of the gods cannot be denied.
ELEKTRA: If you did not come to carry forth our plan, then
what led you here today?
ORESTES: To gaze upon your face once more. And to tell you
I will always love you, Sister.
ELEKTRA: If you loved me, you would help me. A father dead.
Mother, sister, and now brother abandon me. I have no one!
ORESTES: You still have me, and always will.
ELEKTRA: You are nothing to me. Mere hours ago I mourned
your death. Now you are here, but I mourn you still.
ORESTES: Do not say such things—
ELEKTRA: I don't even know you. You are not made of the
same stuff as I. No one of my father's blood would ever cower
before me, as you do now. The noble Agamemnon would not
stand to have a son so pathetic, so weak.
ORESTES: These words sting. Enough.
ELEKTRA: You told me we would defeat her together. To think
I put my trust in you and you alone. Now I know: trust no one.
ORESTES: You do not understand—
ELEKTRA: If you will not help me with the deed, I must carry
it out myself.
ORESTES: I beg you, Elektra, be wise.
ELEKTRA: Give me the dagger.
ORESTES: What?
ELEKTRA: Father's dagger. It deserves to be in the hands of a
child who will honor her father.
ORESTES: I cannot.
ELEKTRA: You must. You have abandoned me now. If nothing

else, grant me this and I will do what must be done. I answer to
no one—not you, not even the gods.
(Orestes hesitantly gives her the dagger.)
ORESTES: I only ask you, dear Sister, be careful. Your boldness
frightens me.
ELEKTRA: I do not live in fear, as you do. This is my calling, as
it always has been.
ORESTES: Do what you feel you must, but may the gods know
that I played no part in it.
ELEKTRA: Yes, may the gods know you sided with that wicked
woman.
(Orestes begins to fade away.)
ORESTES: You know that is not true. Desires cannot drive me,
only the will of the gods. But I will always be with you, dear
Sister.
ELEKTRA: Just leave me be.
(Orestes is gone.)
The time has come to write a new ending to this sorry story.
Elektra, the heroine of the tale, will mourn for Orestes, just as
before. After all, he may as well be dead. Elektra will let all think
the weight of grief bears heavily on her soul. Then, when it
seems Elektra has lost all hope, Father's blade will guide her.
And should Elektra fail at this mission—should she die a fate
like her father's—he will greet her with open arms. For he will
know that she, Elektra, his one true child, is virtuous, noble and
righteous!

Elektra 33
SCENE 7
(Abrupt light switch. It is morning. The Chorus, as patients, stir,
as Nurses make their rounds and exit as the scene progresses. The
Doctor enters.)
ELEKTRA: I'm…fine, actually.
ELEKTRA: Elektra.
ELEKTRA: Twenty.
ELEKTRA: Thursday.
DOCTOR: Very good. Let's begin. How have you felt since
your last treatment?
ELEKTRA: I feel good. A little numb.
DOCTOR: That's normal. You had quite an episode last night.
ELEKTRA: Yes.
DOCTOR: It must have been difficult to learn of your brother's
death.
ELEKTRA: It was.
DOCTOR: How do you think you're coping so far? Grief is a
process, you know.
ELEKTRA: Yes, I miss him. But I feel like he's still with me, even
now.
DOCTOR: That's nice.
ELEKTRA: About what happened last night. I wasn't feeling
like myself. I'm sorry.
DOCTOR: Thank you, Elektra. That takes a lot for you to admit.
(Pause.)
You know you're a good girl, right?
ELEKTRA: I try to be.
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ELEKTRA

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© Elizabeth Brendel Horn

© Elizabeth Brendel Horn

CHORUS: Your love is wasted.

father's chair. Aegisthus, wearing my father's clothes.

© Elizabeth Brendel Horn

© Elizabeth Brendel Horn

ELEKTRA: By the sea. On the beach.

© Elizabeth Brendel Horn

ELEKTRA: (As if in a flashback:) Evil among all evils, you are no

(Lights fade. Lights up on dim area.)

© Elizabeth Brendel Horn

(Clytemnestra pulls away as Agamemnon falls to the ground.

Hear her words.

© Elizabeth Brendel Horn

NURSE: (Gently, as though to a child:) Sometimes you have to be

© Elizabeth Brendel Horn

ELEKTRA: What do you know?

© Elizabeth Brendel Horn

CHORUS: This building is sick.

© Elizabeth Brendel Horn

ELEKTRA & CHORUS: Go on.

© Elizabeth Brendel Horn

ever wonder if perhaps your mother was actually doing what

CHORUS: In her cold, steely gaze,

© Elizabeth Brendel Horn

DOCTOR: Do not threaten me, Elektra—

© Elizabeth Brendel Horn

DOCTOR: Restrain her.

© Elizabeth Brendel Horn

ELEKTRA: I feared my entire existence was in vain. But now

© Elizabeth Brendel Horn

ORESTES: Elektra, I would never betray you, you must know

ELEKTRA: You must. You have abandoned me now. If nothing

© Elizabeth Brendel Horn

Want to read the entire script? Order a perusal

© Elizabeth Brendel Horn

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